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VeloNews Makes Changes for 2009

Published September 30, 2008

BOULDER, CO (BRAIN)—VeloNews, under its new owners, San Diego-based Competitor Group, is shifting gears as it sprints into a new media environment where consumers are getting information from print, the Web and now their cellphones.

Andy Pemberton, the magazine’s publisher, said VeloNews has had a successful year to date, but the industry and consumers can look for some strategic changes next year.

“The media environment is changing rapidly and we're taking a proactive approach to meet our customer's needs across a mixed-media platform,” he said.

Among some of the changes, the most noticeable for readers is a switch to a monthly schedule. In addition, readers will get three three special issues plus the official Tour of California guide. Currently, the staff produces 21 issues a year. The subscription price will drop from $53.97 to $29.95.

The magazine will continue to be printed in an oversize format, which delivers a bigger bang editorially and for advertisers, he said.

The switch to a monthly also increases the magazine’s newsstand on-sale time from two weeks to four weeks, Pemberton added.

VeloNews, audited by the Audit Bureau of Circulation (ABC), posted a 10 percent increase in subscriber sales this year, hitting 49,322, the highest ever. And, according to Pemberton, VeloNews saw its single copy newsstand sales jump 48 percent this year as well.

Web visits are also up with monthly web impressions hitting 14.5 million with a unique visitor average per month of 646,383. For more information, read the November issue of Bicycle Retailer and Industry News.